printables

Today I’m joining up with the Not-Back-to-School Blog Hop
in order to share what we’ll be using in our classroom for the upcoming
2011-2012 school year.

I will be homeschooling a 3rd Grader, and a First Grader next year,
and I’m going to do my best to OVERLAP learning where ever possible.

In order to prepare for our school year I’ve come up with a basic
outline of the different tasks I want my children to complete.

This here outline will pretty much serve as our
entire schedule for the WHOLE year.

Once it’s finished I’m just going to make myself
a weekly calendar and then I plan to
simply fly by the seat of my pants.
(I think that’s a type of homeschooling…right?)

Also….as a disclaimer:This isn’t completeYet.
So if there are blanks or spaces in my outline it’s not a mistake
I just haven’t gotten there yet,
but I really, really wanted to join up in the blog hop,
so I’m posting now even though
there is still work to be done.

In Action: (Listen to Song each day, Virtue Stickers each day)
Day 1: Seeds Full Verse, Awana Verse, New Virtue
Day 2: Seeds Minibooks, Discuss trait/promise, Awana Verse, Virtue Game
Day 3: Seeds Copywork, Children say Awana Verse to Leader, Virtue
Day 4: New Awana Verse, Look up in Bible, Virtue
Day 5: Memory Chart Day, Sticker, bonus for last week

In Action: Children will have 1 week to complete each CL lesson. They can work at their own pace and will be responsible for making sure their work is completed by Friday.
Day 1: DL
Day 2: DL
Day 3: DL
Day 4: DL
Day 5: DL

Resources:
â€¢ Write Source
â€¢ Writing Guides (I’ll be posting these as I make and use them)
â€¢ Hmmmm….Should I purchase an actual Writing Program?

In Action:
Each week Sissy will complete one paper, Each week Bubba will complete a writing project.
Day 1: Topic Choice, Brainstorming
Day 2: Details, Outline
Day 3: Rough Draft
Day 4: Revision
Day 5: Final Draft, Written or Typed.

In Action: (New State every week)
Day 1: Song, Map State, Nickname
Day 2: Song, State Flashcard, State Facts
Day 3: Song, Coloring Page, State Abbreviation
Day 4: Song, Map State on own, w/Capitol
Day 5: Song, State Flag added to â€œPassportâ€

Not yet a subscriber? Join free today by adding your name and email address below! As a newsletter subscriber you'll receive easy print workbooks, exclusive freebies, sponsor offers and updates when new printables and products are available.

And if you’re planning a party in your classroom this year,
you still have enough time to order goodies through Oriental Trading and get them in time!

Soooo, How will you be celebrating this year?I’m thinking Rib Eye….I cook a steak like Ree,
but I like to throw on a bit of Garlic Salt too.What about You?

Not yet a subscriber? Join free today by adding your name and email address below! As a newsletter subscriber you'll receive easy print workbooks, exclusive freebies, sponsor offers and updates when new printables and products are available.

This week, in addition to multiplication, we’ve been
really working hard on learning and understanding Place Value.
A few years back I picked up a set of Base Ten Blocks,
which really made it easy for my children to visualize
what I was talking about with all this “Hundred, Tens, Ones” talk.

But it’s due time to to branch out to bigger numbers…
Thousands, Ten Thousands….maybe even Millions!

We played it this afternoon for Math,
and I’m quite pleased with the results!
Both children are easily reading numbers all the
way out to millions!

I’m surprised at how quickly they picked up on it!The game is played by drawing numbers one at a time
and choosing where to place it on your board. You’re trying
to build the biggest number you can, so you have to be careful
as once you play a number you can’t move it.

I had my children read the “Place” they were putting each number, then at the end of the game they read their entire number to see who was the winner.

An hour later and they are experts in place value and didn’t
even realize they were learning.
(or gambling….for that ever evasive 9)

NOTE: If you like “everyone wins” games, just print one board and work together as a team, write down each number you make and try to beat the last one!

Not yet a subscriber? Join free today by adding your name and email address below! As a newsletter subscriber you'll receive easy print workbooks, exclusive freebies, sponsor offers and updates when new printables and products are available.

I had to make them now,
because they will be so handy for Sissy and Bubba too!

So I followed her tutorial, using a Glue Gun because I too, am completely impatient.

(TIP: In case you are a sleep deprived Mom like me, be sure and put the glue on the magnet part first, and not the fuzzy puff ball part. Trust me.)

They turned out wonderfully didn’t they!

Then I printed out Mama Jenn’s Crown Grid game, and wrote each number 1-9 on the crowns three times each. There were three squares left over so I wrote 8, 2, 10 on each of them.

Then I slid the game into a page protector, and covered up the numbers with the Pom-pom’s.

To Play: Children take turns turning over two pom-pom’s at a time, with the goal of making 10. If a child makes 10, then they get to keep the pom-poms, if not, then they are recovered. Child with the most pom-poms wins. (I did write a 10 on one crown for a bonus pom)

The kids loved playing this game today, and we’re looking forward to more grid games! What Fun! Thanks Mama Jenn!

Not yet a subscriber? Join free today by adding your name and email address below! As a newsletter subscriber you'll receive easy print workbooks, exclusive freebies, sponsor offers and updates when new printables and products are available.

Not yet a subscriber? Join free today by adding your name and email address below! As a newsletter subscriber you'll receive easy print workbooks, exclusive freebies, sponsor offers and updates when new printables and products are available.

The kids had a blast with this project, as we added a layer of cubes every day to allow them time to dry.

We also spent some time exploring the fantastic videos on Sila. My children were just fascinated by these, so far they’ve seen the building of an igloo, the hunting of a caribou, and even a church service with a lesson on Moses. I haven’t seen them all so I’d recommend watching them on your own first to decide, as often with Native American culture you can get into spiritual discussions.

Stay tuned for more Native American Crafts as we move on to the Tlingit tribes!

Not yet a subscriber? Join free today by adding your name and email address below! As a newsletter subscriber you'll receive easy print workbooks, exclusive freebies, sponsor offers and updates when new printables and products are available.

Last week I set up this Rocks and Minerals Discovery table for the kids to explore with! Let me tell you that they L-O-V-E-D it, and it was hard to wrap it up and move on to the next thing. (Don’t you just hate when you have to pry them away from learning in order to get them to eat something?)

I used a few different kits that I picked up at the local teacher store, as well as our local museum. If you’re looking to pick up a kit for your classroom, I think the Minerals kit was better because it came with a streak plate and a nail to test the rocks with. However, the more “fancy” rocks like the ones in the first photo are the ones we picked up at the Museum, and you can snag a nice kit of some here online.

I also made up this handy Rocks and Minerals printable to keep track of all the information we collected about the rocks. These print 2 to a page so you can easily have a bunch on hand for your kiddos to fill out.

Not yet a subscriber? Join free today by adding your name and email address below! As a newsletter subscriber you'll receive easy print workbooks, exclusive freebies, sponsor offers and updates when new printables and products are available.

My opinion is that when you homeschool you just have to be open for the opportunities to arise and somehow you’ll squeeze all the curriculum goals in before the end of the year. I really believe that.

I have to believe that because I don’t have a magic fairy that comes in and teaches my children Art History and Global Economics….leaving me free to solve the numerous daily hassles that seem to always come up:

Like when I have to run back to the store to pick up the cheese that I forgot…

OR to pick up the cheese that the lady charged me for but didn’t put in the bag…….

OR to pick up the cheese that the lady charged me for, and put in the bag, but whirled the bag back around that stupid spinning thing at Wal-mart and hid the other half of my groceries from view leaving me to pack up three children in the pouring rain and head back to the store just so we have what we need come dinner time….which is approaching ever so quickly…..and we might as well pick up McDonnalds anyway, cause it’s too late for Chicken Parmesan anyway! Yeah.

(TOTALLY HOW I FEEL ABOUT IT)

So Moving On…….Lately we’ve been quite sick, I even lost my voice…(betcha didn’t even notice)…and we’ve been traveling alot (…..more on that later), and of course we’re just horrible “Planners” in general…..always running out of toliet paper and laundry soap at just the right time…..

All of which equals more and more of “Car Time” and less and less of school time.

So to counteract life all of these crazy issues that keep popping up, I’ve begun to think of how I can utilize this time on the road.

So I came up with this ingenious idea.

Clipboards for the Car.

Really Rocket science here folks….

Of course I had to sell it on the kids, so I let them go crazy with some Modge Podge…… and they turned them into some “Really, Super Duper Extra Special Travel Pads!” (you know……for when we want to bring along all our super cool worksheets to the dentists office)

It was like taking candy from a baby.

When they finished tearing out every worksheet within reach, and attaching them to their clipboards I knew I had a gold mine.

I knew I had to share…..because I’m gonna milk this on as long as I can.

Homeschooling in the Car rocks.

In fact I now have a school bag dedicated especially for stuff to bring in the car.

I also keep a spelling list in my center console……

Next to my iPhone…….which is jam packed with every educational “AP” I can find (lest the kids have a moments rest from learning)

But the point is that I wanted to stop the, “It’s to hard to write when the cars moving, and the pencil pokes through the paper and my leg and it hurts… and brother is leaning on me and I can’t focus on my math………….” whining in the car.

And these clipboards are going to help. I just know it.

If you’re unfamiliar with Modge Podge, I posted a tutorial of how how we made these clipboards on our main site.

Anyone else have a Handy Tip for Carschooling?

Not yet a subscriber? Join free today by adding your name and email address below! As a newsletter subscriber you'll receive easy print workbooks, exclusive freebies, sponsor offers and updates when new printables and products are available.

Not yet a subscriber? Join free today by adding your name and email address below! As a newsletter subscriber you'll receive easy print workbooks, exclusive freebies, sponsor offers and updates when new printables and products are available.

Not yet a subscriber? Join free today by adding your name and email address below! As a newsletter subscriber you'll receive easy print workbooks, exclusive freebies, sponsor offers and updates when new printables and products are available.

We picked back up with our Owl unit this week, reading “Our Wild World: Owls”. I say reading lightly because the text was a little thick for my 4 year old, but the photographs were quite awe inspiring.

So much so that on the spur of the moment we decided to make a mural mosaic of one of them.

Not yet a subscriber? Join free today by adding your name and email address below! As a newsletter subscriber you'll receive easy print workbooks, exclusive freebies, sponsor offers and updates when new printables and products are available.

And it’s the only way that I even had time to write up this blog post.

Which, in case anyone is wondering…

was interrupted by a vomit spewing Monkey on my lap.

But still I typed on.

Must…….Make…….Printables……. ;)

Not yet a subscriber? Join free today by adding your name and email address below! As a newsletter subscriber you'll receive easy print workbooks, exclusive freebies, sponsor offers and updates when new printables and products are available.

Anyway, the set came with it’s own workbook of ideas and activities, but we were also able to pick up this handy little game book that adds a bit more spice and interaction for my soon to be 1st grader!

It has some great punch out cards that you can use to make up your own games with…..and Sissy loves games……and competition…..

And a chance to beat Mom.

Seriously, when we played this afternoon, she didn’t even realize that she was learning.

And it took all of 10 minutes for her to start counting in the hundreds.

The girls got it figured out.

So now of course I’m on a Base 10 Mission

(Sounds Official doesn’t it!)

And I’ve been tracking down some helpful worksheets and activities online:

Okay, and there are like a ZILLION others online if you just do a search.

Anyone want to share their favorite Base 10 game or activity with us?

I know ya’ll know of some good ones!

Not yet a subscriber? Join free today by adding your name and email address below! As a newsletter subscriber you'll receive easy print workbooks, exclusive freebies, sponsor offers and updates when new printables and products are available.

Well, we couldn’t keep the Oil Pastels put away for very long! They’re just too much fun, and too perfect for the Coral Reef theme we’ve been learning about.

This time we added in a little “Sandy” fun, to learn more about Starfish. We’ve checked out this book from our local library, aptly named, “Starfish” by Edith Thacher Hurd.

So we got to decorating our sandpaper, using the oil pastels. The colors came out very vibrant, and fun! Then we cut them into Starfish shapes, and made a little paper collage with a decorative place to write some starfish facts on the side.

“

We used this spot for Sissy to make a Starfish Adjective Acrostic…is that what they’re called? You know, where you think of an Adjective for each letter in the word “Starfish”….I can’t remember.

Anyway, whatever it’s called, it was a really fun way to think of some descriptive words about these beautiful creatures.

Not yet a subscriber? Join free today by adding your name and email address below! As a newsletter subscriber you'll receive easy print workbooks, exclusive freebies, sponsor offers and updates when new printables and products are available.

Footer

I am a Christian mother of four, with over 13-years experience homeschooling in Southern Oregon. The resources and products I create are designed to keep the prep to a minimum while also bringing a little educational fun to your classroom